As evidence grows that gut bacteria play a role in the development and persistence of food allergies, researchers begin to explore microbe-based interventions. University of Chicago immunologist Cathryn Nagler began to suspect that the body’s resident bacteria play a role in food allergies almost two decades ago. A handful of studies of germfree mice in the 1980s and ’90s had suggested that bacteria in the gut or the compounds they produce, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are important in teaching the immune system not to overreact to the foods we eat.

Over 100 hours of scanning has yielded a 3D picture of the whole human brain that’s more detailed than ever before. The new view, enabled by a powerful MRI, potentially has the resolution to spot objects that are smaller than 0.1 millimeters wide. The scan shows brain structures such as the amygdala in vivid detail, a picture that might lead to a deeper understanding of how subtle changes in anatomy could relate to disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Boys aged 12 and 13 will be offered the HPV vaccine in all British schools starting this September, in a move health officials say will prevent thousands of cancer cases. The jab would protect against a range of cancers caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) including throat, penile, and anal strains of the disease. The National Health Service (NHS) will offer the vaccine free to boys in Year Eight of secondary schools across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland – 11 years after the measure was introduced for girls.